Ventilating fan and mounting therefor



Oct. 7; 1952 w. J. LOHMAN, JR 2,612,

VENTILATING FAN AND MOUNTING THEREFOR I Filed Jan. 12, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 IN V EN TOR.

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Oct. 7, 1952 w. J. LOHMAN, JR

VENTILATING FAN AND MOUNTING THEREFOR 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Jan. 12, 1948 IN V EN TOR. 7167;; ([20 way, c/Z,

A ZZFr/7 y\ v Patented Oct. 7, 1952 VENTILATINGFAN AND signer "I20 THEREFOR; v

William Ll. Lehman, Jr., Morris tcwngN alias Chelsea Products, 1110.; lrvin'gton,

N. J.,accrporaticnof New Jersey h Application January 12, ieas serialnaaness t a p 1 claim. (or. 93 .43)

This invention relates to improvements inventilating fan and mounting therefor; and the in-:- vention has for an object to provide a novel construction of fan mechanism having floor supported means for mounting the same in communication with an underlying ceiling opening through which air is to be drawn by the fan, n

The invention has for another object to provide a novel mounting for a ventilating ian whereby the fan andmeans for driving the same isresiliently suspended above a ceiling opening, through which air is drawn by the fan includingflexible duct means between the fan mechanism and said opening, to the end that vibration and noise incident to ianpperation is substantially elimie nated. i

in connection with a' ventilating fan and mounting therefor of the kind stated, an electric motor for driving the fan, a motor starting and stopping switch means, and a novel arrangementof pull cord means for manipulating saidswitch means, said pull cord means including a fusible link for parting the pull cord means so as to permit the swith,-when closed, to open and stop Fig. l"is a top plan View of a ventilating fan mechanism and mounting therefer as made ac: cbrdiilg t'o'the invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse verticallsectional viewfIof' the same, taken oniliiie 22 inFig. '1"; 'Fig. 3 isa rrag'mentary'vertical sectionalfview; takeno'n line 33 in Fig.1l, but drawn on ane'filafgd scale; {is a plan view of a check or sto means for ceoperatio'n with the.

fan mdtorcontrolswitch pull cord m an this viewbeihg drawn on an enlarged scale: and 5 is alohgitu dirial sectional view; taken oii line 5 -5iiiFig.l4. y r Similar characters of reference areemployed in the "above described views, to indicate eer-t respondingiparts, f V The novel ventilating fan mechanism according to this inventionlis adapted for service in connection with a ceiling opening through which air to be drawn by the exhaust action of the fan mechanism; and tc this end means is provided for supporting the fan mechanismiby the necrabove the ceiling inwhich the air ,passage-opemng is provided- Fer exampla the;fammechanism'is he invention has for another oblect to provide,

especially well adapted to --be supported from a dwelling ,house attic floor above an opening in the, ceiling of the story -.immediately lzi'elovv tim attic, whereby air may be drawn upwardly throughfitheinterior oi the dwelling and dis-- charged into the attic interior for outflow therefrom, through suitably placed exhaust openings with which the attic walls-areprovided p Referring to the drawings, thereferencecharacter lll indicatesa floor of a building, such e, g. as the attiafloor of a dwelling house and l l indic t hew e at t t r at bu l immediately below the-fioorjii, lhe floorlfl and ceiling l l; are ;cut away to provide-an air passage opening I? extending therethreugh; said opening b in pr ierablyrectangularin for'rn.=

The tan; mechanism is positioned abeve the air passage, opening l2, and comprises a horizontal fanhousing means formed-byaiflatbody plate I 3 o recta u r s ap .fi beie l a m -M ing in dimensions to the I dimensions bf said air passage opening I2 said may can having an upstanding external periph'eral' flange l4. The

body plate I 3 is, previdedwith a central circular opening orport l5, whichigsurrounded by ai'i upwardly projecting and preierablyj somewhatoutwardly flared marginal'lfiange It. Said fan housing means thus characterized preferably made of sheet metal, Extending above and across said l fan housing means is'a frame work comprising a lpair of spaced apart, upstanding inverted U-shaped framelirieinbersll', thede pendent le s lief whichj arejaifiiied (as e. g. by Welding) r vto the external peripheral flange M of thebfody pate 13 of the frnhduiihg means, and said frame members I 1 .are further-braced andre enforcedgbyla cross bar 19 whichis aifixed thereto (also fe gf. b'y" welding) to .eiiteiid th'erebetween. simiiaiflyiaflixedito' theifram'e' member's L1 .to extend therebetween, and. Ase as t6 'de'p'end thererom, is a inner perpendicularnameplate an and an, outer perpendicular, nameplate 21; Said frameplates'lfl and areiprxeierabi 'U -shape in horizontal sect as shown. 'Theinnerframe plate "2c is? dispiisediadj-acentte the central axisof theopening "or port 15 of' the ran housing ma -j; a l

'rgsupporgd by "brackets :22, wiser-rare am n to the inner frame. plate 520,1 is aiperpendicuiarbearing sleeve 23, t e;samebem gsupporree in axial alignment with the opening crgport =l'5 of the fan housing n ans. 'Rotatablylsiipportediii-said is thelshaft 24 o'fla' -fari,member exfan member}? is 'dis- 3 housingmeans. .Aflixed to the upper end of said fan shaft 24 is a pulley 26 for rotating the shaft and fan member. The hub 27 of said pulley 26 bears or thrusts upon the upper end of the bearing sleeve 23 and the uppermost bracket 22, thus suspending the fanmember in proper position within the opening or port I5 of the fan housing means.

The means for driving the fan member 25 comprises an electric motor 28. Said motor is supported by a carrier bracket 29 which is suitably affixed to the inner face of the outer frame plate 22; the motor being disposed with its axis perpendicular, and with its armature shaft 30 projecting upwardly. Aflixed to said armature shaft 30 is a drive pulley 3|. between the drive pulley 3| and fan member actuating pulley 26 is a transmission belt 32.

Means is provided for resiliently suspending the fan housing means and its associated motor and fan member supporting frame work above the air passage opening I2. This means comprises a plurality of upstanding standards 33 which are affixed to the floor II] by their foot pieces 34, so that the same are respectively located adjacent to respective corners of the fan housing means. The upper end portions of said standards 33 are formed to provide goose-neck sections 35, which terminate in perforate free end parts or eyes 35, which are disposed to overhang adjacent portions of the upstanding p'eripheral flange I4 of the body plate I3 of the fan housing 'means. Coupled by their upper ends to the-eyes 35 of the standard gooseneck sections, so as to 'depend therefrQm, are suspension springs 36. The lower ends of said suspension springs are'hooked throughopenings 31 with which said adjacent portions of the upstanding'peripheral flange I4 of the body plate. I3 of the fan housing means are provided. In this manner, the fan housing means and'its associated motor; and fan member supporting framework is suspended at the four corners thereof by the springs 35, so that the suspending springs will absorb or dampen vibration and noise incident to the operation of the'fan member, thus assuring quiet andunannoying operation of the fan mechanismin use;

Extending-between the fan housing means and the floor I is a flexible duct formingmeans. This duct forming means comprises a sleeve 38 of flexible material," such e. g. as canvas, which conforms in cross-sectional shape to thereotangular shapes of the fan housing means and of the air passage opening I2. The upper end marginal portion of said duct sleeve 38 externally' laps the upstanding peripheralflange [4 of the fan housing means, and is secured or clamped thereto by external cleat members 39 which are suitably fastened to "said flange I4. The lower end marginal portions of said duct sleeve 38 are outwardly turned to overlie the floor I0 adjacent to the marginsof said" air passage opening I2, these portions beingsecured to the floor ID by superimposed cleat members 40 which are suitably fastened to said floor. It will be obvious that the duct sleeve not only provides an air passage duct intermediate; the air passage opening'l2 and the'opening or port I of the fan housing means in which the fan operates, but, by reason'of its flexible and nonrigid character, also readily yields to and accommodates itself to any movement or play of the resiliently supported fan housing means and its associated motor and fan supporting frame-- Running over and work, and this without transmitting vibrations or noise, incident to fan operation, to the floor III.

The lower end of the air passage opening I2 is provided with suitable covering means disposed to lie substantially in the plane of the ceiling II. Said covering means may comprise a grille, louvers, shutter structure or the like, but, preferably, comprises an automatic shutter means which closes when the fan is idle, but which, when the fan is in operation, automatically opens to air passage therethrough under air suction effects induced by the fan. An illustrative form of automatic shutter means, as shown, comprises an open shutter frame M of rectangular shape adapted to overlap the marginal portions of the air passage opening I2 substantially at the ceiling level; said shutter frame being suitably secured to the framing 42 of the air passage opening. Projecting from the internal margins of the open shutter frame 4| isan upstanding skirting 43 which projects into the air' passage opening I2. Arranged to extend between opposite portions of the skirting 43 are a series of pivotally supported interlapping shutter vanes 44. These vanes 44 are so balanced with respect to their pivotal axes as to fall by gravity to and remain in closed position (as shown by full lines in Fig. 2) when the fan is idle, but to swing upward to open positions (shown by broken lines in Fig. 2) under air suction effect when the fan is in operation.

The fan driving motor 28 may be controlled by any suitable formand location of starting andfstopping switch means. One arrangement of manipulatable starting and stopping switch, as shown, comprises a switch 45 mounted on the side of the motor 28. This switch is of the self-opening type, and is provided with an actuating' lever arm '46. Means is provided for manipulating the switch 45 from a point below the floor and ceiling I0-II, and preferably comprises a pull cord or cable 41 which is attached to the switch actuating arm 46, to extend thence over a guide roller 48. This guide roller is mounted in connection with the outer frame plate 2|. The section of said pull cord or cable 41 which depends from the guide roller extends downwardly through an opening 49 in the body plate I3 of the fan housing means, and thence on through the interior of the duct sleeve 38. Thelower end of the pull cord or cable section 41 :is'coupled to one end of a partible fuse link 50. Coupled to the other'end of said fuse link 50 is the'lower extension or section of the pull cord or cable, which passes downwardly through an opening 5 I in the shutter frame 4 I,fso as to depend below 'the'ceiling II. The free end of saidlower section of the pull cord or cable is provided with a suitablepull piece, such e. g. as the fpull'ring 52. Means is provided for releasably holding the pull cord or cable in down pulled switch closing condition. Illustrative of one arrangement suitable for the latter purpose, as shown, the lower section of the pull cord or cableis provided in the form of a ball-chain 53. The means with which the ball-chain 53 may be engaged to releasably hold the pull cord or cable in down pulled" switch closing condition comprises adownwardly inclined detent plate 54, which is affixed by its base to the shutter frame and framing of the air passage opening I2, in the path of said ball-chain 53. The detent plate 54 is provided with an opening 55 of larger diameter than that-'of the balls of the ball-chain, so that the latter may'freely move through said opening 55 when aligned therewith. Leading upwardly from the opening 55 is a slot or notch 56 of less diameter than the diameters of the balls of the ball-chain. When the ball-chain is pulled down to switch closing condition, it may be swung to the left (as viewed in Fig. 2), thus entering its strand in the slot or notch 56 (see Fig. 5), whereby an underlying ball is stopped against the underside of the detent plate 54 so as to hold the pull cord or cable in down pulled switch closing position. While the switch is thus held closed, the motor 28 will continue to run with fan driving efiect. It will be noted that the fuse link 50 lies in the path of air flow through the air passage opening 12 induced by the operation of the fan. Under these circumstances, if fire should occur below the ceiling II, the rising heat will be conducted to the fuse link 50 so that on melting of its fusible material, the link will part, and thus release the restraint of the upper section 4! of the pull cord or cable upon the switch lever arm 46 so as to allow the switch 45 to open, thereby stopping the motor and fan, with resultant closing of the shutter vanes 44 against upward fire spreading draft.

Although a preferred arrangement of pull cord or cable controlled motor switch has been above described, it will be obvious that other motor starting and stopping controls may be utilized within the broader aspects and scope of this invention.

From the above description it will be understood that this invention provides a novel form and construction of floor supported ventilating fan mechanism for cooperation with a ceiling opening or air passage, including novel means for resiliently suspending the fan mechanism so as to substantially eliminate transmission to the building of vibration and noise incident to fan operation.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

A ventilating mechanism for exhausting air through a rectangular passage opening in a floor and underlying ceiling comprising a horizontal fan housing formed by a flat body plate having a vertical rectangular external peripheral flange and a vertical circular internal flange forming a central opening, the external peripheral flange of saidbody plate being constructed and arranged so as to be adapted to overlie and register with the rectangular margins of the ceiling opening, an associated motor and fan supporting framework mounted upon the horizontal portion of said body plate which intervenes between its external and internal flanges in such a position that the fan blades will rotate concentrically within the said central opening provided by the internal flange, a completely rectangular flexible air duct secured at its upper end to the external flange of the body plate and adapted to have its lower end secured to the marginal edges of the floor surrounding the passage opening, and resilient suspension means for the fan housing comprising a plurality of upstanding standards having feet affixed to said floor, said standards being respectively disposed adjacent respective corners of the fan housing at opposite sides thereof, and extensible hanger springs depending from the upper free ends of the respective standards and having their lower ends connected to adjacent portions of the external flange of the body plate of said fan housing.

WILLIAM J. LOHMAN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

